The Quantifoil team will be presented with their award at the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2024 meeting in Cleveland
The Microscopy Today Innovation Awards acknowledge products and technologies that introduce better, faster, easier, or entirely new methods for microscopy and microanalytical applications. The HexAuFoil® grids, developed by Chris Russo and Katerina Naydenova at the leading MCR Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) in Cambridge, UK, offer significant advancements in drug discovery and biomolecular structure determination. By enabling movement-free cryo-EM imaging, these grids improve data quality and accelerate data collection, which is crucial for rapid lead optimization.
HexAuFoil® grids are composed of a 400 mesh hexagonal TEM grid with a 30 nm gold support film, featuring 300 nm holes arranged in a dense hexagonal array. This configuration not only facilitates higher data collection rates but also enhances throughput in resolving structures, making it ideal for single particle analysis.
One of the key benefits of HexAuFoil® supports is their ability to produce a thinner and more consistent ice layer across the grid, with an average thickness of just 35 nm compared to the typical 50-100 nm. The variation in thickness is also significantly reduced to +/- 7 nm, as opposed to the broader range of tens to hundreds of nanometers seen with traditional grids. These improvements result in more consistent imaging with less need for refocusing, yielding higher quality data from fewer images and enabling high-throughput imaging and superior reconstructions.
Quantifoil became part of SPT Labtech in 2019. Russell King, Head of Cryo-EM SPT Labtech comments, “This award is a testament to the hard work and excellence of Chris Russo and his team at the MRC-LMB. The movement-free imaging enabled by their innovation grants researchers the tools to answer some of the most difficult questions in biology and drug discovery.”
Claire Naylor, Product Manager of Cryo-EM Consumables at SPT Labtech adds, “We are honored to be named one of the winners of this year’s Microscopy Today Innovation Awards. This accolade not only recognizes the innovative design of HexAuFoil® but also the significant impact it has on the field of cryo-EM. We're grateful to be recognized alongside other leaders in the industry.”
Image: HexAuFoil® cryo-EM specimen support grids have been named as one of the 10 winners of the 2024 Microscopy Today Innovation Awards for their ability to improve data quality and speed in biomolecular structure determination.
